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Isla Sorna (Novel canon)
' ' Isla Sorna is the island where InGen cloned and bred dinosaurs before they were shipped to Jurassic Park. The island was located near the western coast of Costa Rica. The local people call it Isla Gemido. It means 'groan,' from the sound of the waves inside the caves.Michael Crichton (1995). The Lost World (novel), chapter Costa Rica, page 515 (Novel bundle). The island appears in Michael Crichton's novel The Lost World. The island is very small, possibly 50 or 55 square kilometers in size. . Location Isla Sorna is part of the island group The Five Deaths. Isla Sorna was the largest of the island and located most to the north.Michael Crichton (1995). The Lost World (novel), chapter Costa Rica, page 514 (Novel bundle). Jurassic Park Legacy members Henrique_Z_Tomassi and DinoDude65 collaborated to create a regional map of Michael Crichton's islands.Regional Map Geography Isla Sorna is said to have been originally a large volcano that blew its top. The high mountain ridges on the coasts restrict access to the island. Only a few tunnels that the water had bored into the sides of the large mountainsides in the east grant access. The waves make a groaning noise in the caves. Local people nicknamed the island after that sound, Isla Gemido, 'groaning island'. Even landing by helicopter is difficult; large wind updrafts would make flying very difficult. Water wells in the north feed the island's river, which debouches in the sea on the south-eastern side. History Before InGen According to the book Die Fünf Todesarten (cited in the novel), the island was inhabited by Indians who build at least one stone structure and covered it with drawings. The island was later owned by a German mining company. The Germans left before or during World War II. InGen In the eighties, the island was bought by the InGen Company. A Village with a large laboratory was built. It was here where the dinosaurs were actually cloned and raised until a certain age/size when they were to be transferred into Isla Nublar. Nevertheless, due to an unknown prion called DX (similar to mad cow disease, though DX was transferred through sheep extracts fed to the carnivores), the animal production was reduced severely; newborns died in a matter of days. Sarah Harding mentions in the novel how surprised she is to find out that InGen fed its carnivores this material, as it is commonly known throughout the naturalist community that no carnivore should be fed this in captivity. The disease would act as any prion-based disease and would; build a large chemical chain within the brain fluid. This chain would become so large, that it would eventually burrow through the brain material, causing insanity in most cases--hence the name mad cow disease. This disease would prove devastating to any genetics company, as any bio-engineered animal already has very little chance of surviving to adulthood. A large batch must be made in order to preserve even a 1% yield rate. A disease such as this could wipe out the entire population within a matter of weeks. In order to overcome the possibility that diseases were being transmitted through workers at the plant, they tagged the animals with radio transmitters and released them to the habitat. Following the collapse of Isla Nublar, several accidents on Isla Sorna forced InGen to evacuate Site B and leave the animals to fend for themselves. Forgotten, dinosaurs take over the island and turn it into a real Jurassic Park. Some animals go extinct while others begin to exhibit strange behaviors. It is later discovered that the island has reached its equilibrium, but because of an explosion in the raptor population, the animals are under increasing stress. Expeditions In the novel of The Lost World, Ian Malcolm learns of this island from paleontologist Richard Levine, and he sets off to the island initially to rescue Levine. Stowed away in the trailer are two smart kids, Kelly Curtis and Arby Benton who help Malcolm and Lewis assistant, Eddie Carr find Levine. However, Lewis Dodgson of the Biosyn corporation also learns of Isla Sorna and seeks to steal dinosaur eggs for genetic research. However, Dodgson and his team are eventually killed and Malcolm and most of his team escape the island. Surprisingly, Sorna, which ran on geothermal energy, had many still functioning systems, including the mainframe and surveillance. The trailers are connected to the local area network and the team were able to use the mostly functioning mainframe to its advantage--that is until the Tyrannosaurus attack severely damaged the trailers. The Lost World: Jurassic Park Interactive Website The Lost World film interactive website displays a modified novel version map of Isla Sorna when clicked on Hammond's wall.Site B interactive mapThis map even goes as far as to point out locations from the film. The Lost World Exhibition After the premiere of the movie The Lost World: Jurassic Park, an exhibition about dinosaurs and the movie traveled the world. The map of Site B that is shown in the exhibition guide is based on the novel version of the island. This Site B symbol also appears on TLW-themed sweaters and some other merchandise packaging. Jurassic Park inspired Games The Lost World: Jurassic Park PS Game The novel version of Isla Sorna is also the location of the video game The Lost World: Jurassic Park. In the intro screen of the Human Hunter level a detailed map of Isla Sorna, with all the habitats, is shown. There are six habitats: *'Habitat A': Compsognathus, Orodromeus, Euoplocephalus. *'Habitat B': Staurikosaurus, Dimorphodon, Baryonyx. *'Habitat C': Tyrannosaurus rex, Triceratops, Parasaurolophus. *'Habitat D': Parasuchus','' Deinonychus, Rhamphorhynchus. *'''Habitat E: Pachycephalosaurus, Allosaurus, Stegosaurus. *'Habitat F': Velociraptor nests. Most of the animals don't appear in the novel. However, the locations of the animals that do appear correlate with the locations in the novel. Some dinosaurs from the novel are not mentioned in this habitat list. But not all dinosaurs that do appear in the game appear in this list. So, there is no contradiction between the bestiary of the novel and this game. Other creatures that weren't mentioned in the human hunter levels, but do appear in the game include the following: Brachiosaurus, Dilophosaurus, Geosternbergia,'' Leptoceratops, and ''Psittacosaurus. The Lost World: Jurassic Park (Arcade) The novel version of the island is also used as the location of the arcade game The Lost World: Jurassic Park, indicated by the "shuffle" menu seen in the selection screen. The Lost World: Jurassic Park (game.com) The novel version of Isla Sorna is used in level screens for the game.com version of The Lost World: Jurassic Park. Jurassic Park: The Game ]] In the Marine Facility (from Jurassic Park: The Game) a map of Isla Sorna can be seen; it is the novel version of the island. It is most likely an easter egg put in by Telltale Games as a nod to fans of Jurassic Park. Indigenous Fauna *Snakes *Plants *Birds Dinosaurs on Site B mentioned in the novel *''Tyrannosaurus rex'' *''Maiasaura'' *''Pachycephalosaurus'' *''Procompsognathus'' *''Apatosaurus'' *''Stegosaurus'' *''Triceratops'' *''Parasaurolophus'' *''Velociraptor'' *''Carnotaurus'' *''Hypsilophodon'' *''Ornitholestes'' *''Mussaurus'' *''Dryosaurus '' *''Unknown tree herbivore (possibly either Othnielia or Microceratus)'' Unknown'''' These dinosaurs, with the exception of ''Coelurosaurus since it was being bred into the park, were in the park on Isla Nublar in the first novel, but they were not seen or mentioned in the second novel. Since all of the animals in the park were first bred on Isla Sorna, it can be assumed that they inhabit the island. However, they might have died out due to their lack to reproduce, or just nesting in a different region of Isla Sorna. *''Cearadactylus'' *''Coelurosaurs'' *''Dilophosaurus'' *''Euoplocephalus'' *''Hadrosaurus'' *''Microceratus '' *''Othnielia '' *''Styracosaurus'' The team of protagonists uncovers a set of memo sheets in the abandoned laboratory that proved that InGen bred, or had the means to breed, Gallimimus on Isla Sorna for eventual transportation to Jurassic Park on Isla Nublar. Although the first novel ends clearly with the destruction of all of the dinosaur population on Isla Nublar, it is unknown whether any surviving Gallimimus populations existed on Isla Sorna at the time the teams landed. Sources Category:The Lost World locations Category:The Five Deaths Category:Novel Canon